First Look: Ramada Encore Bangkok

Wyndham Hotel Group’s Ramada Encore brand will debut in Bangkok on May 20, 2011, positioning itself as a trendy, fresh mid-market brand for the tech-savvy, value driven business traveller.

The 188-room Ramada Encore Bangkok is located within the CBD on Sukhumvit Soi 10, about a 45-minute drive from Suvarnabhumi Airport and close to Asoke BTS and Sukhumvit BTS stations.

All rooms are divided into five categories: Cool, Chill, Deck, Hip and the Encore Suite. The Cool rooms are the entry-level rooms, of which there are 21 in total and measure 24sqm. There are 148 Chill rooms, measuring 26sqm, seven Deck rooms and 11 Hip rooms, both measuring 30sqm each, and one Encore Suite, which measures 50sqm. As the name suggests, the Deck rooms consist of private balconies for sunbathing.

All rooms are wired with free wifi internet access, universal power sockets and a media connectivity panel enabling guests to hook their gadgets onto the TV.

The property is designed to reflect Bangkok’s energetic and thriving atmosphere with vibrant colours, state-of-the-art technology and contemporary yet simple design. This trendy thread trickles down as well to the staff too, who were all hired due to their outgoing and social personalities to match the feel of the hotel, claims Des Pugson, vice president of operations in Asia-Pacific of the Wyndham Hotel Group.

For corporates, the hotel offers a meeting room, which accommodates up to 36 people. Other amenities at the hotel include a rooftop salt water swimming pool, a gym, a business centre and two F&B outlets – The Hub and Chakra.

This new brand tier is the hotel group’s sixth brand in Asia-Pacific, offering travellers a variety of hotels to choose from across all segments of the market from the budget to the upscale luxury sector.

The brand’s mid-market placement fits within the group’s growth strategy across Asia-Pacific, which involves focusing on the large upward mobile middle classes. “The hospitality industry is like a pyramid with the luxury segment at the very tip targeting a small number of affluent people, who will pay anything for an experience and a base of budget options,” said Ken Greene, president and managing director in Asia-Pacific for the Wyndham Hotel Group. “But, there’s a large middle segment that is not addressed and we are trying to fill that gap.”

The second Ramada Encore hotel in Asia-Pacific will open in Bangalore at the end of this year (see story here).